There are a few other sites that I use or have used to find information – these seem to get easier to find the longer I’m here so I’ll add to this as and when I find more. They’re not all hiking-specific, instead, what ties them together is that they all offer quality information about various aspects of Taiwan. (Also, if you are doing something like this yourself please get in touch so that I can add you too.)
- English hiking resources
- Interesting sites and blogs about Taiwan
- Tour companies and hiking groups
- Chinese hiking resources
English Hiking Resources
This blog hasn’t been updated for a while but there’s a lot on here and the author is still busy doing similar things with a company called Taiwan Adventures which organises group hikes and the like. There’s a comprehensive list of all the hikes this person has done with some information about the practicalities of each.
This site has returned and moved over onto a new site. The author is now back in the UK, but he still periodically adds updates, and he is still the unquestionable expert in the field. This is an extensive and well-organised catalogue of pretty much everything outdoorsy from the person who has literally written the guidebook(s) for exploring Taiwan.
New Taipei City Government Hiking Trails
A pretty big list of hikes all over the New Taipei City area which can be searched by length, district and trail type. Be prepared for some interesting English.
This is a great resource for anyone looking for more information on (considerably less trodden) trails in the south of Taiwan.
This is a particularly good place to visit if you want information on upcoming arranged group hikes – something that I find is normally quite hard to do if you don’t have Chinese proficiency. The author (@AnushaHiking) is also active on Twitter, sharing photos of recent hikes as well as local walking-related news stories—she provides a great window into the local hiking scene.
A growing collection of well-written trail guides that will be attractive to anyone who enjoys the type of walks I write about here on Taiwan Trails.
Taoyuan City Government – Attractions
The Taoyuan area’s list of government-sanctioned ‘leisure walks’. You can also use this page to search a wide range of other attractions (including 13 different factory tours and three farms – one of which offers a rose garden which exhibits romance and competitive cup stacking). They give a lot of background detail about the locations which is pretty interesting. And the English is mostly not bad.
Interesting Sites and Blogs about Taiwan
I’m not a cyclist, but am interested in doing a bit more. This site here offers information and GPX files on some of Taiwan’s bike routes. They also help assist cyclists plan their trip to Taiwan.
As someone who listens to a lot of podcasts, I was really happy to stumble upon this one detailing events from Taiwan’s history. The show is hosted by a pair of longtime Taiwan residents, one of whom is the cofounder of Camphor Press (an English-language publishing company based in Taiwan), while the other is a writer/journalist. The episodes are kept tight and accessible and will leave you far more informed than you were previously.
This one isn’t at all related to hiking, however it is a wonderful source of information regarding the stories that have shaped Taiwan.
This isn’t a hiking blog, but the number of times my interests have overlapped with those of the site’s author is considerable. Check out the blog posts for lots of in-depth and interesting articles that you won’t find elsewhere.
Another not hiking-specific blog, but one of the few on here by another long-term female transplant to Taiwan.
My first choice for snake identification.
This one isn’t really much related to hiking, but there are some excellent, detailed posts on historical and cultural sites.
A site with a wide range of Taiwan-related information (as you would hope from the name). I’ve linked to the hiking page here, but there’s a whole host of other content to explore. I have a soft spot for these guys because they have even let me write a few articles for their bi-monthly magazine.
This one does what it says on the tin—it explores the culture and history of Taiwan through the medium of its place names. It hasn’t been updated in a while, but there are a lot of old posts to dig into.
This wide-ranging and interesting site is written by John Groot, author of a book about walking around Taiwan.
Tour Companies and Hiking Groups
HolaTaipei Travel is a boutique travel agency run by a friend of mine called Cris. It offers tailored tours in both English and Spanish to several locations in the north of Taiwan, such as Jiufen and Yehliu, as well as trips to other places island-wide. They also run free guided hikes up to Mount Jiantan complete with snippets of historical interest and sweeping views of Taipei. For an idea of what to expect, you can check out the HolaTaipei Instagram account.
Pitching itself as “Your Ride to the Outside,” Parkbus Taiwan has a rotating calendar of trips to various trails around Taiwan that are generally either inconvenient or impossible to reach without your own transportation. An appealing aspect of these trips is that for the most part, they allow participants to choose whether they would like to walk with the group or strike off on their own. As long as you’re back at the designated meeting spot at the right time, you can do your own thing. The one downside is that almost all of the trips are scheduled for the same day of the week (Saturday), so if that happens to clash with your schedule, you’re out of luck.
As well as a website, Anusha offers a hiking planning and assistance service for hikers wanting help with things like permit applications and organising transportation. I haven’t used her services personally, but I have been on a hike that she arranged and she was meticulous in making sure every “i” was dotted and every “t” crossed.
Facebook is currently one of the best places to meet fellow outdoor enthusiasts, especially if you haven’t yet picked up much Chinese. I recommend the Taipei Hikers group. They’re one of the most active, run regular activities through their Meetup Group and have some very knowledgeable moderators. There’s also the Hikerbabes Community: Taiwan Chapter, Southern Taiwan Hiking, and Taichung Hiking.
Chinese Hiking Resources
Tony Huang’s travel notes and YouTube channel
Tony Huang’s site is one of the most detailed resources out there for people hoping to explore the trails and interesting sites of Taiwan. I really value his thoroughly researched articles and the genuine enthusiasm that comes across in his videos.
Hiking Biji website and app
The Hiking Biji site is a massive store of information related to all sorts of outdoor activities (although it is mostly skewed towards hiking). You can find users’ write-ups of of trails, lists of the top walks in each county, and mountaineering news. The app, which can be downloaded from either the Apple app store or Google app store can be used to download, track, and record GPX routes. It can also be used to collect digital trophies for challenges such as the Taipei Grand Trail and 100 Peaks (or 100 Minor Peaks).
taiwan trails and tales 